Eagles off to a Flyer in play-off but hosts fight back
NEWCASTLE Eagles survived a late comeback from Bristol Flyers to edge out 97-94 winners in the first leg of their BBL play-off quarterfinal, writes ANDREW McDONNELL.
Fab Flournoy’s side were in control for most of the game - but a fourth-quarter comeback from the Flyers means there is everything to play for in the second leg tomorrow.
The Eagles were led to victory by the scoring of Rahmon Fletcher (31) and a double-double from Orlan Jackman of 23 points and 11 rebounds.
Bristol’s Hameed Ali finished with 30 points for the visitors, while Brandon Boggs picked up 22 points.
The Eagles went into the game having won their final two games in the regular season and Flournoy’s men started quickly in front of a packed WISE Arena.
Jackman’s double opened up proceedings before Darius Defoe slammed home to give the visitors an early advantage.
Fletcher’s treble kick-started a run of 12 unanswered points for the Tynesiders, who stretched their lead to 18 points.
Newcastle were moving the ball around freely and the first 10 minutes drew to a close when Fletcher added a deuce to put his side up 30-9.
The American point guard picked up where he left off and added a treble inside the first eight seconds of the second quarter.
Greg Streete responded with a triple of his own but Jackman and Joe Hart stretched the Eagles’ lead past 30 points midway through the quarter.
The visitors’ half-century was brought up when Drew Lasker added a lay-up, while Roy Owen’s treble stopped a run of 11-unanswered points for Flournoy’s men.
Bristol came out firing after a timeout towards the back end of the quarter and started chipping away at the Eagles’ lead.
Streete’s triple on the buzzer sent the hosts into the locker room on a high as they trailed 53-35 at halftime.
The Bristol guard began t the second half with a double and the sides exchanged scores in the early stages of the third quarter.
Fletcher’s treble took the Eagles up to a 66-44 lead midway through the third but the hosts started to chip away at the lead once more.
Ali’s two free-throws brought up the half-century for Bristol and Boggs added a further three - but Lasker’s long triple on the buzzer closed out the penultimate quarter with the Eagles leading 77-53.
Boggs and Streete both made three-point plays to begin the final quarter and the home side were continuing their quick play to reduce the arrears.
Newcastle were keeping the points flowing while Ali and Streete took the lead down to 14 points with just over five minutes to play.
A 13-1 run for the Flyers took them to within six points of the Eagles, Bristol point guard Ali taking his personal up to 30.
He went for a long treble in the final seconds of the game - but the shot missed narrowly and the Eagles took a three-point lead back to Tyneside for tomorrow’s second leg at Sport Central.